SLICES OF LIFE - two plays about life and relationships (Lambco Productions – Stage Door Theatre)

Review by Jeremy Simmonds

Written by: David Heal

Featuring: David Heal, Atlanta Hayward

Roy’s Story

Written by: Roy Cotter

Featuring: Dereck Walker

Directed by: Robbie O’Reilly

Lighting design: Richard Lambert

Slices of Life is a highly thought-provoking double-bill of stand-alone productions contrasts the complexities of gay relationships from vastly differing perspectives.

Woman and a man sitting on a settee eating popcorn and laughing — Atlanta Hayward and David Heal in DM

In David Heal’s semi-autobiographical DM, the hero navigates his audience through a twisting journey that blurs the lines between reality and imagination. A young man dealing with a painful break-up that confronts him with the reality of a partner discovering her true sexuality, the hero, while accepting of his lover’s new path, struggles to deal with the loss and hurt that he faces. Thus, he finds a level of solace in placing this reality within his own dramatic reconstruction. Having understood the positions of both characters, the audience is then invited to determine which sequences are real and which might be the creation of the protagonist’s fertile mind. In this way, DM dishes up a series of intriguing questions, some of which are answered and others left to the judgment of those watching.

Man sitting in a chair holding a tea pot — The ever fabulous Dereck Walker as Roy

Roy’s Story is by contrast an affecting retrospective of its writer’s life as an older gay man with much diverse life experience. Through Dereck Walker’s engaging and powerful solo interpretation, we learn of the difficult moments Roy navigates throughout his growing up – and specifically within a difficult family life – while relishing the humour of his uncompromising story-telling. There are moments of genuine pathos and unadulterated honesty in a work that calls to mind an Alan Bennett monologue – albeit a presentation cast in far darker shade.

Neither performance is perhaps for the faint-hearted, but there is plenty to absorb in a unique evening that never lets up in its ability to entertain, engage and provoke.

Watch out for these productions, putting them together is a stroke of genius - highly recommended by the London Born and Bred team.